Concept of scales and musical frequencies in ancient india
Answers
It might be a surprise that the diatonic scale was the foundation for the ancient Chinese and the Indian music, though the musical theory and practices differ from the Western.
For the old Chinese, their musical scale was developed by the circle of perfect fifths up to 60 degrees or keys, the 60 Lü, though they usually only used the first 5 fifths in their pentatonic music, because they knew that these represent the limit of consonance in modal music. In addition, the ancient Chinese saw a symbolic representation in the pentatonic scale, rooted in their belief in music as being the representation of the relationship between heaven and earth (the five elements).
The Chinese were well aware centuries ago of the existence of our modern Equal Temperament. They dismissed such a tempered scale not only for its badly false notes, but mainly because the tuning was not in alignment with the cosmic tone.
According to the book by David Taime, The Secret Power of Music, 3 was the symbolic numeral of heaven and 2 that of the earth; sounds in the ratio of 3:2 will harmonize heaven and earth. As a way to apply that important concept, the Chinese took the foundation note, ‘Huang Chung’, and from it produced a second note in the ratio of 3:2.
A more in-depth explanation made by Alain Daniélou in his ”Music and the Power of Sound”:
“Music, being the representation of the relationship between heaven and earth, must quite naturally have this confirmation of a center or tonic (gong) surrounded by four notes assimilated to the four directions of space, the four perceptible elements, the four seasons, and so on. "
“The pentatonic scale thus presents a structure that allows it to be an adequate representation of the static influence of heaven on earth. But a static representation of a world in motion could not be an instrument of action upon that world. It is necessary to evolve from the motionless to the moving, from the angular to the circular, from the square to the circle. To express the movements of the universe, the sounds will have to submit to the cyclic laws that, in their own field, are represented by the cycle of fifths.”
In pentatonic folk music semitones do not exist. By practical experience, people have found out that the five-note scale allowed the possibility of playing in any key without significant disharmony. Theorists would say that the scale was composed of ascending and descending fifths, only in two steps in each direction. A pentatonic scale can be played by only using the black keys on the piano.